Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Facebooked

I have no problem admitting that I am a bit of an odd duck.Among other things, I am a former police officer and an Army and Navy veteran, a minarchist (libertarian), an ignostic (non-religious and highly skeptical), an advocate for preserving the second amendment, for the complete repeal of drug prohibition and an end to the war on drugs, for medical cannabis, and for transparency in the VA system. Needless to say, this makes me a bit controversial and somewhat of a target at times. I am passionate, outspoken, and educated; none of which helps. I am learning to play the ukulele though, so there might still be help for me yet.I use facebookfor work, socializing with friends and family, and discussing various mainstream and eclectic interests, like most people.

I recently had fifteen posts flagged in one day on facebook for violating community standards. All were overturned upon review. Five days later I posted these three memes;

The Democrat and Republican ones had a total of eleven flags for violating community standards. The Libertarian one had none. If you'll notice the dates, you may realize that the first two are telling people to vote for those parties the day after the election! It may not be the most brilliant humor ever, but anyone who is paying attention at all already knows that November 6th is Election Day. So what was I flagged for, sabotaging the elections? Picking on stupid people? Challenging America's shitbird political duopoly? It appears to be completely arbitrary. Facebook locked down my account for three days. On the notifications, each was marked closed with no option to have them reviewed. Facebook has no customer service phone number for personal accounts. That leaves me shit out of luck.

I do a good bit of graphic design work through my facebook account so they shut down a lot of my business. I logged into my back up account that is primarily just good friends and family and facebook flagged the Democratic meme there even though I didn't post it on that account and locked down that account for a day! Are they are targeting IP addresses now?

We can all yackety-yack about censorship, freedom of speech, and the first amendment, but those apply to the government, not commercial entities. Many of us think facebook is our platform or soapbox. We're wrong. It is a business that we use for free for letting them sell our personal information.

Many FB users talk about migrating to MeWe, which was created by a libertarian who values freedom of speech and doesn't collect or sell our information. Unfortunately, it is a slow process because people are embedded infacebook and like the greater activity level. Set up a MeWe account, visit daily, created groups, invite friends and families, post there often, and we will get there. If you have groups on facebook, create mirror ones on MeWe.

Whatever you do, remember this. Facebook is not your friend. They are a progressive, faceless entity. When you are on their site, they own all of the hills, and all of the cattle, and Instagram too. You play by their arbitrary rules or you get ousted, no explanation required.

The final sentence of the Declaration of Independence is a promise among the signers, to “mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor,” and many of them and their fellow patriots did, in fact, sacrifice their lives and fortunes in service to our country.

We are pimping ourselves and our children out through social media and becoming slaves of technology.

1984 is here.America and the world are changing fast. Hatred and division are becoming widespread. Our natural and civil rights are being compromised for our own protection. It is moving offline and into the streets, schools, homes, and businesses. Be prepared. Practice situational awareness. Bond with like minds offline. Know where you stand and, by Hell or high water, hold your ground.

Mark Zuckerberg has an estimated net worthof 53.3 billion dollars. Who is paying him for what?

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About Me

I enjoy family, travel, dogs, ukulele, volleyball, cycling, NFL (Go Pack Go!), reading, improv, emergency preparedness, facebook, various forums, graphic arts, web design, movies, and music.
I'm an avid knowledge and research junkie and get a bit obsessive at times before moving on to my next new interest!
My political leanings tend to be Libertarian.
I am an Ignostic Humanist & Pastafarian. I'm an ordained minister through a half dozen churches and have held an honorary Doctorate of Divinity since the early nineties.
I am a South Carolina Notary Public, a member of Mensa, the NRA, the International Society of Caricature Artists (former), and a former Mason.
I've been a sailor, soldier, police officer, tattoo artist, body piercer, web site designer, graphic artist, caricaturist, cab driver, steel worker, aircraft mechanic, HAWK Missile Technician, cook, salesman, messenger, service writer, dispatcher, office manager, plant worker, Battlefield Effects Technician, and several other things.